When it comes to teaching students how to reduce fractions, many schools rely on the traditional way -- with a school book and instructions to memorize fraction rules. This is an antiquated approach. Teaching fraction reductions this way makes the concept of learning fractions even more difficult for children to understand. Not only are children frustrated, but so are teachers and parents. Students forget how to add, subtract, multiply and divide with fractions once they learn. And many students prefer to memorize formulas instead of really understanding them, according to Regina Catholic Schools.
It's not enough for a math textbook to show a few examples of fraction reductions. Fractions are best understood when seen. An easier way for children to learn reductions is to make them do problems and draw pictures such as pie charts. This technique allows them to form a visual picture in their minds to grasp the lesson better and solve it using concrete techniques. This way, students learn the rules of fractions mentally first and can visualize the pie pieces in their mind. Then, the rules start making sense, because of the hands-on instruction. You can buy premade slide shows and practice worksheets online that use circles and number lines to illustrate adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions.
Many educators now use fraction websites to supplement classroom instruction. Teaching students fraction reductions using websites helps students visualize the process. Instead of "teaching" students by rote, children are "shown" how to perform functions and then can implement what they've learned. Instead of merely rehashing fraction rules learned from a book, websites make fraction reductions more meaningful to children. A number of math websites make the experience a bit easier for kids to learn, such as coolmath4kids. One website, math.rice, uses a pizza and color-coded blocks to illustrate fraction adding, multiplying and other operations.
Manipulatives are another way for children to learn about simplification. Manipulatives use pattern blocks and fraction blocks to help children understand how to work with fractions. Manipulatives are helpful when teaching other math concepts, but they are particularly useful when learning about fractions, according to Regina Catholic Schools. The blocks are brightly colored objects that can be used on projectors and on magnet-sticking surfaces.